Part 1 · Page 232
Waraqah Mourns Zayd
English rendering of the source section
Local English translation from the Arabic text; variant readings and editorial commentary are distinguished from the transmitted narrative.
This local English rendering may condense the Arabic narration and editorial notes. It is not a complete published English edition. Consult the Arabic source for exact wording and context.
Read the corresponding Arabic sectionZayd investigated Judaism and Christianity but accepted neither. He hurried back toward Makkah after the monk’s counsel; when he reached the territory of Lakhm, they attacked and killed him. Waraqah ibn Nawfal mourned him: “You found right guidance and excelled, son of Amr; you escaped a blazing furnace of Fire. You held to a Lord unlike any other and left the idols of tyrants as they were. You attained the religion you had sought and were never heedless of your Lord’s oneness. You have entered a noble dwelling, delighting in its honor. There you meet Allah’s close friend, not among the arrogant cast down into Fire. A person may receive his Lord’s mercy, even if he lies beneath the earth through seventy valleys.” Ibn Hisham says that some lines are also attributed to Umayyah ibn Abi al-Salt and that one phrase comes from a source other than Ibn Ishaq.